


One night a year

by TaleaCorven



Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Halloween, Kissing, M/M, Panic Attacks, Phobias
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 10:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12579228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaleaCorven/pseuds/TaleaCorven
Summary: It's Halloween and Heath is afraid of clowns. Will his new co-worker Adam protect him?





	One night a year

Heath hated Halloween. He loved Halloween, but he also hated it. Actually, there was only one thing he hated about it – ever since that incident in his childhood.

At least he didn't need to walk home alone today. His new co-worker Adam lived in the same direction. Heath still wondered why his boss had decided to hire another employee, although the little music store they worked in barely made any money as no one bought CDs anymore. But Adam seemed to be a nice guy and – just like Heath – he liked rock music. He'd even been the lead singer of an underground band which almost caused Heath to admire him.

Heath checked everything one last time and then grabbed the keys his boss had left behind. "Are you ready to leave?" he asked Adam.

When the other man nodded, they went outside and locked the store. It was pretty cold this night. Adam pulled up the collar of his coat and buried his hands in his pockets. Heath looked around. The streets were busy with people, and there were many groups of children in several different costumes. He became a bit nervous and tried to focus on his co-worker while they walked down the sidewalk. Adam told him about his divorce last year and that he wanted to start a new life in this town.

Heath listened to him and nodded until _it_ happened. He already saw it from afar and immediately stopped dead in his tracks. His heart was beating fast, his throat felt constricted and he broke out in a cold sweat. _Fuck, fuck, fuuuuck!_

Adam turned around and looked at him. "Heath, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

His voice sounded like it was coming from far away. Heath wanted to answer, but he was afraid he would collapse, vomit or piss his pants any moment. Adam put his hands on Heath's shoulders; his big eyes were filled with worry. "Hey, please talk to me. How can I help you?"

Heath pointed to a group of trick or treaters that came toward them. "Do you see that?" At first his voice was trembling. Then it just burst out of him. "I know you don't know me very well, but I'm deathly afraid of clowns. Could you please hold my hand until we get past them? I know they're only a toddler, but they're scary!"

Adam looked at the child in a clown costume and then grabbed Heath's hand. It was already too late when Heath noticed that his hand was drenched in sweat. He was even more ashamed than before. Adam, though, didn't seem to care. Instead, he just smiled at him. "Let's go."

His warm palm pressed against Heath's, his skin was surprisingly soft and his fingertips rested on Heath's knuckles. Some color returned to Heath's pale face.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I'm a grown adult and yet..."

"Don't worry." Adam squeezed his hand lightly. "Phobias aren't always rational. I understand that."

It only took a few minutes until they had passed the group. When they were out of sight, Heath breathed a sigh of relief and pulled back his hand. "Thanks."

"Are you alright now?"

"To be honest, I think I need a bathroom break," Heath said, embarrassed.

"My apartment is only about three minutes from here. Is that okay for you?"

Heath nodded. Three minutes sounded way better than the more than 15 minutes to his own.

"I gotta warn you, though," Adam said while they walked down the path to the big building. "You know I just moved in a few days ago. So it's still a bit chaotic."

"No problem, as long as your toilet works." Heath grinned tensely and hoped his desperate attempt at a joke would make Adam forget how pathetic he was.

They entered the apartment and Adam led him to his bathroom. Some minutes later Heath returned and looked around. Adam hadn't lied. There were a lot of moving boxes – some opened, some emptied, some still taped shut. But there was no decoration anywhere. Heath imagined Adam sitting alone in this uncomfortable place, and it made him sad.

"How about we head over to my apartment and have our own little Halloween party?" he suggested.

_Wait, that sounded wrong, very wrong._ Heath felt heat creeping up his cheeks. "I mean..."

"Sounds great!" Adam smiled at him. Either he hadn't really understood him or he was polite enough to ignore it.

Heath was unusually quiet on their way to his place. Adam seemed to be such a cool guy, and he really wished they would become friends. But he had to stop embarrassing himself.

When they arrived in his apartment, Adam was surprised about the many pumpkins and skeletons and... zombies. There were a lot of zombies and there was even a _The Walking Dead_ poster in Heath's living room. So he obviously didn't hate Halloween or spooky things in general.

"Would you like a beer?" Heath asked as he returned from the kitchen with some bottles in his hands.

Adam nodded, grabbed a bottle and sat down in the armchair at the head of the table. Heath put the other bottles on the table and took a seat on the sofa.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Adam asked. "Is there a reason why you are so scared of clowns?"

"Yeah, there is. But it's a bit silly because nothing really happened."

"I won't laugh. I promise."

"Okay." Heath took a sip of his beer. "It was on Halloween. I was ten years old, and I went trick-or-treating with some friends. The brother of one boy was the only older guy in our group. I think he was 14 or 15. He was supposed to look after us. But of course he was annoyed and just wanted to meet his own friends. I don't know how exactly it happened... I was dawdling around and suddenly all my friends were gone. I went back and forth, looking everywhere, and then there was a man in a clown costume. He asked me if I was alone, and I told him that I lost my friends. He grabbed my hand and said he would help me. I was frightened and he sent out creepy vibes, but I didn't know what else to do. So I followed him. When I realized that something was wrong, it was already too late. He took me to an old building, probably his house. It looked really scary from the outside, and I told him that I wanted to go back. But he tightened his grip and pulled me closer. Just before we entered, the brother of my friend appeared. The stranger said he just wanted to call the cops, let me go and left. My friend's brother was angry and forbade me to tell anyone about it. He said he would beat me up if I did."

"Have you told anyone?"

"No. And one year later I pretended to be sick, so that I could stay at home. The year after that I told my parents that I was already too old for trick-or-treating."

"Damn, that's a horrible story. I'm glad the guy couldn't hurt you."

"Yeah, but I still feel guilty that I didn't tell my parents or the police about it. Who knows how many other kids he hurt..."

"But that wasn't your fault! You were still a child."

"And I was never able to forget that incident. Every time I see a clown on Halloween, I'm so scared, I feel like I'm ten years old again."

"Have you thought about getting therapy?"

"I don't know... I mean, it doesn't affect me in my daily life. It's just one night a year."

"How about we spend this one night together every year from now on?"

Adam's smile gave Heath a warm fuzzy feeling inside. _Did he mean...?_

"I know we just met a few days ago," Adam continued. "But it feels like we are on the same wavelength, and you're almost like the little brother I never had."

"Oh, you mean like friends...?" Heath couldn't help being disappointed. _Wait, had he just said that out loud?_ He cursed his own mouth for being faster than his brain.

Adam was surprised. "Like I said, we just met... I don't want to be hasty. But, yeah, if you want to know, I think you're really cute."

Heath felt a familiar warmth rising to his cheeks. He patted on the sofa. "Can you hold my hand again?"

It only took a few seconds, then Adam sat down next to him and grabbed his hand. It was sweaty; but this time the sweat wasn't cold. Heath turned his head and admired the beautiful eyes of the other man before his gaze wandered down to his lips. He wondered what they would feel like and unconsciously licked his own lips. Adam came closer to him, slowly enough for Heath to stop him. But he didn't. Instead, he closed his eyes when Adam's lips touched his.

It was a short sweet kiss. Then Adam pulled away again, and Heath opened his eyes. Adam looked happy but also a bit insecure. Heath shot forward and pressed their lips together. He wanted this, needed this. Adam felt so good, tasted so good. Heath's eyes went shut. He was moaning, sucking, licking. Their tongues met, played with each other, fought, danced. Heath's hands were buried in Adam's hair; searching fingers moved over fabric, skin.

He climbed onto Adam's lap, straddling his thighs. _No, fuck, he was going too far. Why was he always so impatient?_ He broke up the kiss and leaned back. He'd ruined it. Adam would hate him now. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

Adam didn't look angry or shocked. He smiled at him. His hands went to the back of Heath's neck. He pulled him closer and pressed their foreheads together, a gentle touch. Heath relaxed and rested his hands on Adam's shoulders. Maybe this was good. He'd found someone who accepted him with all his flaws.

"This is my favorite Halloween so far."

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a Halloween Prompt Contest on Tumblr (@wrassleslashlibrary).  
> Prompt: _"I know you don’t know me (very well), but I’m deathly afraid of clowns so could you just hold my hand until we get past this trick or treater…I know they’re only a toddler, but they’re scary!!!"_


End file.
